After a Stroke, a Penguins Defenseman Makes an Impact

Kris Letang, left, now teamed with Paul Martin in the Penguins’ defense, has helped to shut down the Rangers’ top line in their series.

Gene J. Puskar / Associated Press

By JEFF Z. KLEIN

May 6, 2014

Watching Kris Letang dart up and down the ice, his long black hair waving behind, you would never know that 14 weeks ago, he was lying flat on his bathroom floor after having a stroke.

Letang, 27, a defenseman for the Pittsburgh Penguins, is not only befuddling the Rangers’ top line in their second-round playoff series, but he chipped in a goal and had two assists in the Penguins’ 3-0 victory in Game 2.

Letang, a former nominee for the Norris Trophy awarded to the N.H.L.’s top defenseman, is a linchpin of a high-powered attack that features Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, and was a key contributor on the Stanley Cup-winning team in 2009.

But when he woke up at home on the morning of Jan. 29, something was wrong.

“The room started spinning,” Letang said. “I couldn’t stand up, and I started falling against the walls. I fell on my face on the bathroom floor.”

Letang’s wife, Catherine, heard him fall and hurried to see what was wrong. She and her mother, a nurse, picked Letang up and put him on the bed. Thinking he had fainted, they elevated his legs.

After a while, Letang felt better and he did not want to miss the trip that the players’ mothers were to take with the team that day.

“I wanted to go on the trip, so I said, ‘Who cares?’ ” Letang said. After feeling dizzy and nauseated on the flight and the next day, he flew to Phoenix for tests, which revealed that he had had a stroke.

“Who would have thought I’d get a stroke?” Letang said. Only 0.01 percent of people Letang’s age have one, doctors told him.

The results also showed that Letang had a hole between the upper chambers of his heart. Doctors, however, could not determine whether that contributed to the stroke.

For Letang and his wife, who have a son, Alexander, who will be 2 in November, the diagnosis forced a re-evaluation.

“With a wife and a son, you gain perspective,” he said. “It was the first time I saw Catherine react that way. She was really scared.”

Despite the frightening experience, Letang was certain what he wanted to do.

“One thought I had was I really want to play hockey again,” he said. “The doctors said that according to my age I would recover, but there’s also a chance it could go wrong, too.”

A few professional athletes have had strokes, including Tedy Bruschi of the New England Patriots, who returned to play after having one at 31. Brian Mullen of the Islanders, though, was forced to retire at 31.

Letang said he did not expect to return this season. Laid up by dizziness, nausea, headaches, fatigue and vision problems, he was unable to do much for almost two months. But he had come back from being sidelined several times before in his career, including from an infection that required elbow surgery in December.

Slowly, Letang regained his strength and began practicing. Finally, he asked General Manager Ray Shero if he could play again. When doctors approved, Letang returned on April 9 for the last three regular-season games and scored a goal and had three assists

“I think I did pretty well,” Letang said. “But going into the playoffs, I got kind of scared. I was on my heels a little bit; I was scared of making a mistake.

Like the rest of the Penguins, Letang struggled through the first four games against Columbus. But in Game 5, after Brooks Orpik went down with an injury, Bylsma paired him with Paul Martin.

The Penguins have gone 4-1 since Letang and Martin formed the new twosome. They have held Derek Stepan, Rick Nash and Martin St. Louis, the Rangers’ top line, without a point, helping the Penguins lead the series, 2-1.

Penguins forward Brandon Sutter called Letang’s recovery inspiring.

“At the time, it was pretty scary for everyone involved,” he said. “But he’s been great since he’s come back. We’re just glad he’s feeling well and playing well.”

Even the opposition seemed inspired by Letang’s comeback.

“It’s very impressive what he’s had to go through and how he’s come back from it,” Rangers Coach Alain Vigneault said. “I would have hoped that it would have been a little bit slower — I’m joking when I’m saying that — but I’m happy he’s healthy.”

But perhaps the most impressed of all is Bylsma.

“To be honest with you, just to see him playing, and at that level, and so many minutes,” Bylsma said, sounding a bit emotional, “it’s a blessing that he’s out there playing for us.”